Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yaounde and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Yaounde: $789 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Yaounde
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Yaounde Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Yaounde

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$789

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Yaounde and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Yaounde and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $789 in Yaounde versus $1,806 in Athens.

Yaounde $789
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,225 in Yaounde versus $2,731 in Athens.

Yaounde $1,225
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,661 in Yaounde versus $3,656 in Athens.

Yaounde $1,661
Athens $3,656

Living in Yaounde costs roughly 56% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yaounde is 41% below, Athens is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.51 FCFA 2,051

$16.66 €14.87

-78.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.5 FCFA 29.5K

$66.2 €59.1

-23.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 FCFA 3,053

$11.06 €9.87

-52.80%

Cappuccino

$1.96 FCFA 1,145

$4.14 €3.69

-52.66%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 FCFA 898

$2.80 €2.50

-45.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 FCFA 318

$0.57 €0.51

-5.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.27 FCFA 744

$5.64 €5.03

-77.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 FCFA 1,014

$5.46 €4.87

-68.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.66 FCFA 2,143

$1.96 €1.75

86.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 FCFA 638

$1.41 €1.26

-22.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 FCFA 772

$2.83 €2.53

-53.36%

Eggs

$2.10 FCFA 1,228

$5.04 €4.50

-58.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.54 FCFA 7,923

$15.35 €13.70

-11.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.16 FCFA 3,605

$10.34 €9.23

-40.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 FCFA 3,919

$18.97 €16.93

-64.68%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 FCFA 3,037

$2.17 €1.93

139.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 FCFA 1,178

$1.91 €1.70

5.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 FCFA 1,180

$1.38 €1.23

46.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 FCFA 803

$2.20 €1.96

-37.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 FCFA 960

$1.10 €0.98

49.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 FCFA 847

$1.13 €1.00

28.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 FCFA 635

$1.10 €0.99

-0.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 FCFA 388

$0.83 €0.74

-20.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.68 FCFA 981

$5.60 €4.99

-70.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.32 FCFA 4,869

$10.19 €9.09

-18.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 FCFA 803

$2.18 €1.95

-37.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 FCFA 1,146

$2.45 €2.19

-20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.58 FCFA 339

$1.38 €1.23

-57.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.43 FCFA 10.2K

$30.87 €27.55

-43.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 FCFA 343

$4.37 €3.90

-86.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 FCFA 262

$1.04 €0.93

-56.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.06 FCFA 3,546

$17.11 €15.27

-64.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 FCFA 826

$2.31 €2.07

-38.96%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.4K FCFA 19.0M

$28.0K €25.0K

15.96%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.3K FCFA 12.5M

$28.0K €25.0K

-24.00%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$80.3 FCFA 47.0K

$210 €187

-61.72%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.09 FCFA 9,997

$26.70 €23.83

-35.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.9 FCFA 30.4K

$30.13 €26.89

72.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.33 FCFA 13.6K

$54.6 €48.72

-57.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.27 FCFA 4,251

$26.03 €23.23

-72.07%

Cinema Ticket

$8.59 FCFA 5,025

$10.78 €9.62

-20.32%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$610 FCFA 357.1K

$575 €513

6.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,355 FCFA 1.4M

$13.1K €11.7K

-82.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.95 FCFA 9,915

$93.2 €83.1

-81.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.00 FCFA 15.8K

$40.68 €36.30

-33.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$25.98 FCFA 15.2K

$104 €92.9

-75.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.7 FCFA 32.6K

$128 €115

-56.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$140 FCFA 81.9K

$756 €674

-81.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 FCFA 108.2K

$652 €582

-71.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$409 FCFA 239.5K

$1,294 €1,154

-68.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$211 FCFA 123.2K

$1,163 €1,038

-81.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$847 FCFA 495.6K

$4,008 €3,577

-78.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$593 FCFA 347.2K

$3,452 €3,081

-82.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$190 FCFA 111.1K

$1,243 €1,110

-84.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

190.18%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Yaounde: October 4, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Yaounde

$253 32%

Athens

$315 17.6% 24.3% $61

Accommodation & Living

Yaounde

$185 23.3%

Athens

$652 36.5% 253% $467

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yaounde

$149 18.8%

Athens

$267 14.9% 78.6% $117

Eating Out

Yaounde

$85 10.8%

Athens

$269 15% 215% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Yaounde

$57 7.1%

Athens

$165 9.2% 192% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Yaounde

$41 5.1%

Athens

$76 4.3% 88% $36

Getting Around

Yaounde

$23 2.9%

Athens

$46 2.6% 104% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $140 in Yaounde and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 555% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Yaounde vs $66.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $253 vs $315 per month, with Yaounde cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Yaounde

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

07:18 7:18 AM

09:18 9:18 AM

2 h ahead of Yaounde

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,817,524 Capital

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to XAF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yaounde Athens 3,990 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Yaounde
Athens

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Yaounde vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yaounde wins on cost – living expenses run 129% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Yaounde the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 555% lower in Athens. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $140 in Yaounde versus $756 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Yaounde – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $789 per month in Yaounde versus $1,806 in Athens – a 129% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $789 in Yaounde versus $1,806 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Yaounde but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Yaounde the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Yaounde delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $789 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Yaounde hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Yaounde and Athens are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Yaounde gentler on the wallet – expenses run 129% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.